Senate Democrats block swift passage of Keystone XL pipeline bill

Senate supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport crude oil from a private Canadian company to Texas oil refineries, failed to get the 60 votes needed to limit debate on the controversial project.

By
Timothy Gardner and Richard Cowan, Reuters /
January 27, 2015

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Senate Democrats blocked a GOP bill to push the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project through Congress. The pipeline would transport oil from a private Canadian company to Texas refineries, via public and private lands up and down the US.

The Daily Caller

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Washington, D.C.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked the Keystone XL pipeline bill from moving forward on Monday, but supporters of the project vowed to push ahead and eventually get a vote on the measure.

The Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed to limit debate, voting 53 to 39 on the measure.

Democrats, who lost control of the Senate as a result of November's elections, flexed their muscles to deliver a message to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he will have to deal with them even on bills that enjoy some bipartisan support.

McConnell has pledged that amendments to bills will be debated in an open process. But Democrats said McConnell cut off debate last Thursday on several amendments.

"He's got to work with us and not try to jam us," Senator Chuck Schumer said of McConnell. Democrats are not trying to delay the bill, but they don't want McConnell to shut down the open process at his whim, said Schumer, the Senate's third ranking Democrat.

Republicans have made passing the Keystone bill the first priority of the new Senate.

But the White House has said President Barack Obama would reject the bill, and Keystone supporters are four votes short of the 67 needed to overcome any veto.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, the chairman of the energy committee, vowed to work with Democrats on her panel to consider additional amendments.